View from Marske Edge, looking down to Richmond, Yorkshire; and View of Easby Ruins from the road to Loves Lane, Yorkshire

George Cuitt the elder (1743 - 1818) was born in Moulton, Yorkshire. Showing precocious ability as an artist, he was sent to study in Italy by Sir Lawrence Dundas, the 1st Earl of Zetland (1766 - 1839), who was keen to cultivate local talent, and was later elected as a Whig Member of Parliament for Richmond in 1790. Cuitt remained in Rome for six years, studying the landscape painting of old masters, returning to England in 1775, where he would exhibit regularly and to critical acclaim at the Royal Academy over the next twenty years. His passion for his native landscape led Cuitt to retire to Richmond where he was fully employed in commissions of the estates and houses of the local gentry.

The Premonstratensian abbey of Easby was founded in 1155 by Roald, Constable of Richmond Castle. After the 1537 dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII, the buildings fell in to disrepair, and the abbey church was destroyed. The remaining ruins include the refectory, cloisters, guest house, gate house and presbytery. The old parish church of St. Agatha stands nearby.

The village of Marske is just outside Richmond; the Marske Beck runs through the valley to join the river Swale.